I’m. Coming. Out.

Okay, to be honest, it seems like a big deal (what is that strange feeling, nostalgia?) to be springing back onto the stage again. Wasn’t it just yesterday that I was sprawled out on the floor at L.A. Fitness, clutching my foot? Didn’t I just stop crutching, then stop limping, then throw my rehab boot on top of a kitchen cabinet in disgust and triumph? It all still seems so fresh.

But I took a look at my checklist:

*Cartwheel – yup
*Front walkover – yup
*Going on a trail run with the guys from Lost Valley – yup
*Sally Beauty Supply’s “Buy two false eyelashes, get one free” sale – yup
*Jumping through hoops without breaking a bone – yup

It appears that it’s time.

But before I get on with this blog — and with my life — I want to give a huge thanks to everyone who helped me out when I broke my foot. Being temporarily disabled (on crutches for two months and in a rehab boot for another) made me hyper aware of how important it is to have loving, supportive people in my life. I didn’t register at first how hard it would be to heal from this injury, so I was initially jumping around on one foot, trying to do everything for myself. I subsequently swelled out of three different casts. The circulation in my broken foot went haywire. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t walk. I finally had to just sit down, with my foot elevated. And sit. And sit. And cry.

And ask for help.

The hardest, most humbling thing about this experience was learning how to receive. I used to live alone and plow through life taking care of biz solo. And then, suddenly, I couldn’t do anything for myself — not even hoop to make myself feel better. I had to ask for help every five minutes. I am so grateful to everyone who answered, when I asked. It was not easy or comfortable to be so dependent on other people, but it was a critical life lesson in the importance of community. I will forever have ridiculous amounts of love for the friends who cooked food for me (and carried the food to the table), who drove me to the doctor’s office a bazillion times, who hugged me when I was sobbing with my foot propped up on the back of the couch, who made a family for me when I live so far away from my actual family.

(Thank you, thank you sweet friends!)

And now, I hereby return to the world of accepting gigs. If anyone wants to come support my reemergence, this is where I’ll be:

SATURDAY, FEB. 20 – MIZ KITTY’S PARLOR, MISSION THEATER, PORTLAND, OR: (Doors 6 p.m., Show 7, tix $12, 21+) Taking the 21st century audience into the realm of the Alaskan Gold Rush, genuine Vaudeville acts and Music in the spirit of true Americana, Lisa Marsicek aka Miz Kitty will again be your seasoned and spirited guide for a night you will never forget. This month’s show features:

“MAGIC & MAYHEM VAUDEVILLE REVUE”
(a.k.a. Revolva and her boyfriends)
Featuring:
Adam the Great
Amazing Mathias
Michael O’Neill
… and yours truly
(Kidding about the boyfriends; it’s Adam’s show. But I will be the token woman, and look how cute they all are! I think they just hired me to tone down the sex appeal.)